and its Alkaloid Conia. 391 



tonaeum, or injected directly into the veins. Its activity through 

 these several channels seems on the whole proportional to the 

 speed with which absorption is carried on by each texture ; so 

 that it is one of the poisons which act through absorption. Never- 

 theless, a fact will be mentioned by-and-bye, which would indi- 

 cate that something more than absorption into the blood is re- 

 quired before it can affect those vital functions, whose arrestment 

 constitutes the cause of death and the essence of its operation. 



The activity of conia is not impaired, but rather the reverse, 

 by neutralization with an acid. Geiger arrived at a different 

 conclusion, for he says " its poisonous effect is greatly lessened 

 by union with acids." Such a fact would be at variance with a 

 law in physiology hitherto found to be universal ; that poisons 

 acting through absorption are not at all, or very little, altered in 

 their effects by any change in chemical form, provided they con- 

 tinue equally soluble. As the salts of conia are more soluble 

 than the alkaloid itself, we should expect them to act with at 

 least equal energy. And, accordingly, I have always found that 

 the activity of a poisonous dose was materially increased by using 

 it neutralized with muriatic acid. It will follow as a corollary, 

 that the discovery of a chemical antidote for conia or hemlock is 

 extremely improbable. 



The chief features in the action of conia are the following. It 

 is, in the first place, a local irritant. It has an acrid taste ; when 

 dropped into the eye or on the peritonaeum, it causes redness or 

 vascularity ; and to whatever texture or part it is applied, expres- 

 sions of pain are immediately excited. But these local effects 

 are soon overwhelmed by the indirect or remote action which 

 speedily follows. This consists essentially of swiftly-spreading 

 palsy of the muscles, — affecting first those of voluntary motion, 

 then the respiratory muscles of the chest and abdomen, lastly the 

 diaphragm, and thus ending in death by asphyxia. The para- 

 lytic state is usually interrupted from time to time by slight con- 

 vulsive twitches of the limbs and trunk in the early stage of the 



